Centralia massacre

The Centralia massacre occurred on 11 November 1919 when local American Legion members stormed an Industrial Workers of the World hall in Centralia, Washington, leading to six deaths. The massacre occurred on Armistice Day, when the American Legion - US Army veterans of World War I - paraded down the streets of Centralia and halted in front of the IWW hall. The IWW and the Legion were enemies due to conflicting ideologies; the Legion promoted itself as a patriotic and anti-communist organization, while the IWW was a socialist labor union that opposed the US entry into World War I. The Legion's veterans made plans to storm and ransack the local IWW hall at the end of the parade, and they were surprised when armed IWW members fired upon them in self-defense. Later, the Legionnaires would return with guns, and one IWW members was lynched and shot. The massacre was blamed on the IWW by the government, while the IWW blamed the Legionnaires; the incident would contribute to the rise of the First Red Scare.